WELCOME
Chris is a musical director and supervisor currently based in London and working in the West End. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music with over ten years of professional experience, he is a seasoned pianist and conductor in a variety of styles, as well as an experienced arranger, copyist, and repertoire coach.
Headshot courtesy of Nick Arthur Daniel Photography
LATEST NEWS
Chris is a regular keyboard deputy and cover conductor in the West End, currently working on 'The Book of Mormon', 'Moulin Rouge!', 'Back to the Future: The Musical', 'Operation Mincemeat', and 'The Devil Wears Prada'.
He was also musical director on a workshop for Michael Cassel Group and Playful Productions for a forthcoming project, and provided music preparation for the Boston and Broadway transfers of 'Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)' after providing the same service for the West End transfer in 2024.
Chris was recently Associate MD and Keyboard 2 on the West End transfer of 'The Time Traveller's Wife', a new musical with music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Joss Stone, having worked on the piece since its first workshop in 2019, including its world premiere at Chester Storyhouse in 2022.
He also acted as musical supervisor, conductor, and pianist for 'The Stationmaster - The Complete Work', a full album recording of the new British musical by Tim Connor and Susannah Pearse, which is available to listen to on all major streaming platforms as both a cast album and complete work recording.
Chris at the curtain call for a West End performance of 'The Time Traveller's Wife'
ABOUT CHRIS
Chris was born and raised in Yorkshire, and started learning the piano at the age of eight. Despite being classically trained, he began to discover and teach himself how to play and improvise jazz, a musical style which has remained close to his heart, and discovered musical theatre through appearing on stage in local amateur theatre productions in York, his home town.
At the age of fourteen, he played in an orchestra pit for the first time for a production of 'Blood Brothers'. The following summer, he was asked to play keyboards for 'Little Shop of Horrors' at the Grand Opera House in York, and at the age of sixteen he piano-conducted 'Return to the Forbidden Planet' as his final school production.
Despite going on to study a Masters in Mathematics at Durham University, music and musical theatre continued to play a large role in Chris's life. He played both keyboards and bass guitar in the orchestra pit for over twenty different musical theatre productions, acting on several occasions as musical director, as well as co-forming the award-winning theatre company 'Tone Deaf' which still continues to produce shows over a decade later, and playing piano for the Durham University Big Band.
In January 2013, Chris was accepted to study Musical Direction and Coaching at the Royal Academy of Music from September of that year, where he was awarded the Norma Simpson Prize by the Academy for a combination of good work, conduct, and general achievement throughout the academic year.
He is now based in London and thrilled to be working in its musical theatre scene.
CV AND EXPERIENCE
Chris has over ten years of professional experience working in musical theatre, including on London's West End where he held the Assistant MD and Keyboard 2 chair on 'The Book of Mormon' for over five years, on Broadway, and for UK regional and touring productions. He has also worked in film for Walt Disney Pictures.
A condensed CV is available to view as a PDF document. If you require a more detailed CV, please get in touch using the contact form.
SERVICES
"The five-piece band is simply outstanding and driven by a first-rate MD in Chris Guard."WhatsOnStage
Chris can provide a variety of musical services, from session playing and conducting, to arranging and orchestration. Having worked with multiple creative teams and music departments in a range of contexts and settings, he can happily cater to whatever is required during a project, and has garnered a reputation for delivering consistently high quality work with a quick and efficient turnaround.
As well as being an experienced pianist, he has acquired over twenty years of knowledge in using the music typesetting software Sibelius, and is also experienced in using Logic, MainStage, QLab, and Ableton Live. He is also able to provide high quality piano tracks or custom arrangements, transcriptions, and transpositions.
"Musical director Chris Guard led his band perfectly. They were rambunctious from the very first note."Everything Theatre
CONTACT CHRIS
If you want to get in touch with Chris regarding services or other general enquiries, please use the form below.